LIVE! Two jawans injured in Naxal firing in C'garh

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Sat, 11 June 2016

Two jawans injured in Naxal firing in C'garh

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22:57 Italian mountaineer dies skiing in Gilgit-Baltistan

An Italian mountaineer died while skiing down a 6,000-metre peak in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), officials said today.

The 27-year-old Italian alpinist, Leonardo Comelli, fell down when he was attempting the first ever ski descent of the north-west side of Laila Peak, according to Karar Haidri of Alpine Club of Pakistan.

"According to preliminary reports, during a traverse Comelli crossed his skis, lost his balance and fell circa 400 metre down steep mixed terrain," he said.

The alpinist had been a part of a four-person Italian expedition team that reached Karakoram range in late May in order to attempt the first ski descent of the north-west face of 6,096 meters Laila Peak. The other expedition members -- Carlo Cosi, Zeno Cecon and Enrico Mosetti, are unhurt.

22:43 Two jawans injured in Naxal firing in C'garh

Two police jawans of the District Force (DF) were today injured when Naxals attacked a team of security personnel deployed to ensure security to a helicopter in the dense forests of Pamed in Bijapur district. "The police personnel sustained bullet injuries as the armed Maoists opened fire on them close to Pamed police station, located around 500 km away from the state capital Raipur," Special Director General of Police (SDGP), Anti-Maoist Operations D M Awasthi told PTI.

Security forces were given the task of ensuring security to the helipad ahead of the landing of a helicopter meant to drop some jawans from Bijapur to Pamed, who had returned after the vacation.

After dropping them, the chopper returned and security forces began marching back to its base, he said. "Meanwhile, a group of Maoists opened fire on them leaving two DF constables- Virendra Mandavi and Akhilesh Chelam-- injured. However, rebels fled from the spot as security forces retaliated," the SDGP said.

22:41 Nurse kidnapped, molested in Thane

A 27-year-old nurse, working at a hospital in Naupada here, was allegedly abducted and molested in an auto-rickshaw, police said today. The incident occurred last night, following which the victim lodged a complaint with Naupada police station.

"The nurse had boarded the rickshaw to return home after her hospital shift got over around 8 PM. However, two men also got into same vehicle and it was driven all the way to the forest area of the Yeoor Hills. The woman was molested in the rickshaw," a senior police officer said.

As per the complaint, the woman was dropped back to a place near Lodha Complex within the limits of Kapurbawdi police station. Based on the complaint, an offence of kidnapping and molestation has been registered, the officer said.

The CCTV footage of the woman boarding the rickshaw has been collected by police and further investigation into the case is on.

Gujarat forest department has advised tourists and locals against taking "selfie with lions" to discourage them from getting dangerously close to the wild animal and putting their lives at risk, an official said.

"The forest department has found growing trend of people risking their lives by taking selfie with lions in forest areas. They do so out of excitement to share these photos on social media platforms to garner praise," Chief Conservator of Forest, wildlife crime, S P Sisodia, said.

Considering this increasing trend, we have advised tourists and locals to refrain from doing so and if they are caught doing so, they will be punished as per the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1971, he said.

"To take a selfie, you will have to go close to the lion, which is dangerous. Apart from posing a risk, it is also against the legal povisions and can attract punitive action from the department. We are only reinterpreting the law looking at the latest trend," he said.

The forest department has recently come across several instances in which villagers were killed or injured by lions. As per the census conducted by the forest department last year, the population of lions in Gir has seen a rise.

Eleven persons, including three children and as many women, were today killed when a truck hit an auto-rickshaw in which they were travelling, in Amreli district of Gujarat.

The incident occurred near Chawand village in Lathi tehsil, police said. While nine persons in the auto-rickshaw died on the spot, two succumbed to the injuries at a government hospital.

One of the injured was taken to Rajkot civil hospital. "The rickshaw was on the way to Chawand village," said Amreli SP R B Barot.

21:40 Kidnapped Indian woman remains untraceable

An Indian woman kidnapped by suspected militants outside her office in Kabul two days back remained untraceable even as Afghan authorities continued efforts to secure her safe release.

Judith D'Souza, working for Aga Khan Foundation as senior technical adviser, was kidnapped along with two other persons outside her office in in Taimani area of Kabul on Thursday evening.

The ministry of External Affairs is in touch with the Afghan authorities to ensure release of 40-year-old Judith, a resident of Kolkata. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for her kidnapping.

Reports from Kabul said, Afghan authorities have stepped up efforts to secure Judith's release. Sources in New Delhi said there was no update about her and that government was in constant touch with the Afghan authorities.

Family members of Judith said in Kolkata they are hopeful and positive about the efforts being made by the Indian government in bringing her back from Afghanistan. "Afghan officials have said they are doing everything possible to secure the early release of the woman," according to a report by Afghanistan's TOLO News.

21:20 Militant hideout busted in Rajouri in JK

Security forces today busted a militant hideout and unearthed a cache of arms and ammunition in Rajouri district. Based on specific inputs, a joint search operation by the Army and police was launched in the upper reaches of Pangai in Dera Ki Gali area in the district, a defence spokesman said.

He said that the team unearthed a cache of arms and ammunition which was hidden in a natural cave.

The stockpile consisted of one AK rifle with two magazines, one Chinese pistol with magazine and assorted ammunition of AK rifle, pistol, hand grenades and rifle grenades, the spokesman said.

ED today attached assets worth Rs 1,411 crore of liquor baron Vijay Mallya and one of his companies in connection with its money laundering probe in the the alleged IDBI bank loan default case.

"We have attached properties worth Rs 1,411 crore (as per the market value) of Vijay Mallya and UB Limited under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act," an Enforcement Directorate official said.

The assets brought under the "provisional attachment" order include bank balance of Rs 34 crore, a flat each in Bengaluru and Mumbai (2,291 sqft and 1,300 sqft respectively), an industrial plot in Chennai (4.5 acres), a coffee plantation land in Coorg (28.75 acres) and residential and commercial constructed areas in UB city and Kingfisher Tower in Bengaluru (84,0279 sqft).

The agency, in a statement, said the order was issued as investigation found that some of the properties were being "disposed off" by the accused so that further action undertaken by the agency under PMLA can be "frustrated."

An attachment of assets under PMLA is aimed to deprive the accused from obtaining benefits of their ill-gotten wealth. The accused can appeal against this action before the Adjudicating Authority of PMLA within 180 days.

The Mumbai police have arrested two persons for allegedly torturing 28 children and holding them captive in a house in the western suburb of Kandivli.

"Two persons, self-claimed `maharaj' (godmen), have been taken into custody for illegally detaining 28 children, all from outside Maharashtra, in a building in Samtanagar area of Kandivli," DCP Kiran Chavan told PTI.

The bungalow is located in Thakur Village and was covered by green cloth from outside, the officer said. The boys were brought to Mumbai three months ago under some pretext and held captive against their will, the police officer said.

"They were made to chant mantras and beaten up. Some were made to stand on one leg for 16 to 20 hours at a stretch. One of the boys called up his parents and narrated the sordid tale," Chavan said.

An incident of celebratory firing was reported from Indore, during the celebration of 125th anniversary of Holkar College this afternoon.

According to reports, a large number of current and former students of the college took part in the celebrations, when some shots were fired in the air and some students were also reportedly seen waving the gun in the air.

Accidents related to celebratory firing during various celebrations across the country has left several people dead or injured.In April, a 10-year-old child was killed and two others were grievously injured due to firing as part of a wedding procession in Bihar's Arrah.

The children were standing in their balcony to watch the wedding procession when a bullet, fired as part of celebrations, struck them.

19:49

Social activist Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati nominated to Rajya Sabha by the government.

19:35

All 7 Samajwadi Party candidates win in Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha polls, BSP gets 2, BJP and Cong 1 each. Congress leader Kapil Sibal wins.

19:28

All 7 Samajwadi Party candidates win in Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha polls, BSP gets 2, BJP and Cong 1 each. Congress leader Kapil Sibal wins.

19:06 Alert sounded at Vaishnodevi shrine after police recover army uniform

An alert was sounded by J&K Police in and around the Vaishnodevi Shrine in Trikuta hills on Saturday, including its base camp Katra town, following the sighting of two suspects in army uniform at Domail on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.

An army uniform, along with a pair of shoes, were found abandoned at Domail late Friday evening after a local shopkeeper informed SHO Jhajjar Kotli about the sighting.

As senior police officers from both Jammu and Reasi districts reached the spot, the shopkeeper said that he saw two people carrying rucksacks abandon the army uniform and change into civilian clothes behind bushes. Both appeared to be in a hurry and boarded a Katra-bound bus, the shopkeeper told the police.

18:55

BJP candidates MJ Akbar and Anil Madhav Dave win Rajya Sabha seats by getting 58 votes each. Congress's Vivek Tankha gets 62 votes and wins the third Rajya Sabah seat. Vinod Gotia who was contesting against Vivek Tankha got 50 votes.

18:40 Venkaiah Naidu elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan

JUST IN: Venkaiah Naidu has been elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, who defected from Congress to BJP and played a key role in its big Assam win, and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, a new entrant to the saffron party, were today inducted into its National Executive, a day before it meets for a two-day session in Allahabad.

The BJP brought several new faces to its key body, the highlight being some former Congress leaders, including former Odisha Chief Minister and tribal leader Giridhar Gamang and former union minister K P Singh Deo, also from that state. The party also inducted into the National Executive several of its former state unit chiefs, including Laxmikant Bajpai of Uttar Pradesh, Prahlad Joshi of Karnataka, V Muraleedharan of Kerala, Kamal Sharma of Punjab and Chaoba Singh of Manipur.

All these four leaders were heading the party in their states until recently. Party sources said these leaders were inducted keeping in mind their "stature", the need to the strengthen party in states like Odisha and the to make the body more

17:48 Grenade hurled at security patrol in J-K

A grenade was hurled by suspected militants to target a security patrol in Kupwara district of north Kashmir, but it failed to explode, police said today. It was later destroyed by the bomb disposal squad of Jammu and Kashmir police.

Suspected militants hurled a grenade towards the patrolling party of security forces at Handwara main chowk, a police officer said. He said the grenade failed to explode and was subsequently destroyed by the BDS.

The official said a hunt has been launched to identify and nab the militants involved in the incident. Earlier on June 6, a live grenade was found lying on the roadside at Trehgam area of Kupwara which was later destroyed by the BDS.

16:51 610 gentlemen cadets pass out of IMA

A total of 610 gentlemen cadets including 45 from six friendly countries took part today in a colourful Passing Out Parade at the end of their training at the Indian Military Academy.

Congratulating the gentlemen cadets on the completion of their training at the prestigious academy, GOC-in-C of South Western Command Lt Gen Sarath Chand, who was the reviewing officer for the POP, asked them to imbibe and uphold the IMA's motto of valour and wisdom during their professional careers.

He said it will help them achieve professional competence and inculcate in them the qualities of fair play, civility, maturity and tolerance in adversity.

The IMA credo, which places safety, honour and welfare of the country first, has a universal appeal to men and women in uniform all over the world.

He asked them to be proud of the high standards of training they had received at the academy and utilise it to serve their respective countries.

Senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia has an advice for Hindu men: "Go home and worship your manhood".

For the outspoken VHP leader believes "impotency" has grown among Hindu men which has led to a decline in their numbers.

The Indian Express reported that Togadia made the controversial remarks on Friday at a gathering at Jambusar in Bharuch district in Gujarat.

The VHP leader said Hindu couples must have more children in order to tackle the growing numbers of Muslims in the country.

He listed 'love jihad' and conversion to Christianity among the reasons behind dwindling numbers of the Hindu community.

16:35 'Sansad Ratna' awards conferred on 5 MPs

Four first time Lok Sabha MPs were among five Parliamentarians who were honoured with the 'Sansad Ratna' Awards in Chennai on Saturday.

Former RBI governor C Rangarajan gave away the awards.

The awards, instituted by Prime Point Foundation and emagazine PreSense, were given to five Lok Sabha MPs and one former Rajya Sabha member for their performance in Parliament.

BJP's PP Chaudhary, representing Pali in Rajasthan, Heena Vijaykumar Gavit, BJP MP from Nandurbar, Shrirang Appa Barne, Shivsena MP from Maval and Congress MP Raajeev Shankarrao Satav from Hingoli, all three from Maharashtra, were the first time MPs who were awarded the 'Sansad Ratna.'

Two-time Shiv Sena MP from Shirur in Maharashtra, Shivaji Adhalrao Patil, and former RS member and CPI (M) leader from Kerala, P Rajeev, were also honoured for their work.

The recipient of the awards, instituted following a suggestion from the former president APJ Abdul Kalam that MPs be honoured by civil society for performance, were picked by a selection committee, comprising Union Minister Hansraj G Ahir, BJP Chief whip Arjun Ram Meghwal, and five time MP Anandrao Adsul.

The certificates issued to them highlighted each of their participation in several debates, moving a number of private member bills, raising over 300-500 questions individually and a high attendance percentage in Parliament.

15:57 JEE (Advanced) 2016 results on Sunday

The fate of the 200,000 students who qualified for the JEE-Advanced exam will be revealed as the results are declared on Sunday.

Students can check their results HERE

Students who cleared the JEE-Mains, the first phase of the two-phase IIT-Joint Entrance Examinations, were eligible to sit for the JEE-Advanced examination conducted by IIT Guwahati on May 22. Those who clear the second and final phase of the exam will be offered a place in one of the premier technology institutes in the country.

The JEE-Advanced 2016 was conducted in two parts while Paper 1 was conducted from 9 am to 12 pm and Paper 2 was conducted from 2 pm to 5 pm.

Even before the results of the Advanced 2016 are declared on Sunday, coaching institutes in Kota -- considered the Mecca of coaching in the country -- are ready with the all-India toppers list and rankings but havent disclosed names.

14:51 Bihar toppers scam: Bachcha Rai surrenders

Bihar toppers scam: Bachcha Rai, the principal-cum-director of Vishun Roy College of Bhagwanpur in Vaishali district, which is in the eye of the storm over the merit scandal, has surrendered.

According to police sources, Baccha can be tried maximum under Sec 420 or 120B of IPC.

The rape of a minor girl by five men at a village in Moradabad was filmed and sent to the father and relatives of the survivor after the girl refused to be blackmailed by the men.

Police have filed a case and arrested one of the accused, while a hunt is on for the remaining four, after the video was circulated and resulted in a massive public outcry.

The crime was allegedly committed on the night of May 26 when the residents of Kalerkhedi village under Dilari police station, including the father of the 17-year-old girl, had gone to watch an IPL match at a neighbour's house.

The five men abducted the girl, who was alone at her house, at gunpoint, took her to an abandoned house nearby and gang raped her, filming the crime.

Read more HERE

The ISIS today claimed responsibility for the killing of an elderly Hindu ashram worker in Bangladesh, as the Muslim-majority country reels under a series of brutal murders of secular activists and minorities by Islamists.

"ISIS fighters in Bangladesh killed a Hindu man in Pabna, in the north of the country," the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency said in a brief Arabic message, according to US-based SITE Intelligence Group.

Nityaranjan Pandey, 60, who was working as a volunteer for the past 40 years at the Thakur Anukul Chandra Satsanga Paramtirtha Hemayetpurdham Ashram, was murdered in Pabna's Hemayetpur Upazila yesterday.

Pandey was taking his routine morning walk when several machete-wielding attackers hacked him in the neck, killing him on the spot only 200 yards away from the ashram.

The ashram, named after a famous Hindu saint, draws large number of Hindu devotees from across Bangladesh and neighbouring India.

Civil Aviation ministry has come up with a host of proposed measures today that, if implemented, will empower passengers travelling by air.

To begin with the ministry proposes cap cancellation charges not exceeding the basic fare.

So next time you have to cancel your flight, don't worry about the huge cancellation fees.

So much so that the Airport development fees levied in many airport like Delhi's IGI Airport has to be returned to the passenger as well in event of cancellations.

The ministry has also come down hard on airlines when passengers are denied boarding despite having valid tickets due to overbooking. In such instances if the airline fails to organise another flight in next one hour, the airline will have to compensate the passenger with a whopping 200 per cent of one way basic fare and airline fuel charge.

And if the erring airline fails to arrange an alternate flight within 24 hours the compensation charge will be an even steeper 400 per cent.

Singer Christina Grimmie, who starred in NBC's The Voice and was critically injured when a gunman shot her after a concert in Florida, has succumbed to her injuries, authorities said.

A man armed with two guns walked up to the singer as she was signing autographs Friday night and opened fire, Orlando Police spokeswoman Wanda Ford said.

Grimmie's brother tackled the gunman, who fatally shot himself, according to authorities.

The singer had performed at The Plaza Live theater Friday night, along with the band Before You Exit, when the shooting broke out.

"This is a very tragic event," Ford said. "This should have been something that was fun and exciting, and for something like this to happen is just a tragedy."

Saina Nehwal advance to the Australian Open finals, defeats Wang Yihan 21-8, 21-12

Yihan, 28, had turned out to be one of Saina's greatest nemesis in recent times.

In a total of 15 meetings, the Chinese, ranked #2 by the Badminton World Federation, had a total of 11 wins against the Indian shuttler.

Saina's previous win over Yihan came way back in 2012 at the Denmark Open; Yihan had retired from the match midway owing to an injury. In their next six meetings after that encounter, Saina, currently ranked #8 by the BWF, could never really overcome the Chinese shuttler.

Billionaire Warren Buffett has again auctioned off a private lunch to raise money for a San Francisco homeless charity, and this time the meal goes to the highest bidder for $3.4 million (over Rs 22 crore).

The bid of $3,456,789 from Friday night's winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, ties for the record highest.

In 2012, the winner also paid $3,456,789 to become the most expensive individual charity item ever sold on eBay.

The week long eBay auction began on Sunday and wrapped up on Friday night. By mid-morning on Friday, the bidding reached more than $2.6 million, nearly $300,000 higher than last year's winning bid by Beijing-based Dalian Zeus Entertainment Co.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Saturday said the ban on its members joining the government service is 'unjust and undemocratic', adding that it does not affect the morale of its workers as they do not work with the state's support.

"Banning RSS members to join govt service is unjust and undemocratic. Such bans hardly affect work and morale of RSS Swayamsevaks," All India Prachar Pramukh of the RSS, Manmohan Vaidya said in a statement.

Vaidya also said the move of banning the government employees to participate in RSS programmes has already been proved 'unconstitutional' by courts in multiple cases.

"RSS does not work through state power or with the support of it. RSS works among the people, with the people and for the people," he added.

The Mumbai Police has rescued as many as 28 youngsters, including 12 minors, from the clutches of a self-styled god-man, who had confined them in a bungalow in Mumbai's Kandivali area.

The godman had allegedly forced the youngsters into performing rituals that were physically and mentally torturous.

Police inspector Sunaina Nate of the Samta Nagar Police Station said, "One of the children managed to inform his kin about the exploitation he was subjected to. The kin immediately informed police about the matter."

Acting on information, a team of the Samta Nagar Police raided the premises on Friday evening and rescued 28 youths, including 12 minors, mostly hailing from Uttar Pradesh, said Nate.

Pakistan has reached out to Mexico and Italy seeking support for its NSG membership bid, stepping up diplomatic efforts for its inclusion in the elite 48-nation bloc whose membership India is also eyeing.

"Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz spoke over telephone with Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu as part of Pakistan's continuing diplomatic efforts towards mobilising support for Pakistan's application for the membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)," a Foreign Office statement said here.

He highlighted Pakistan's credentials for the NSG membership with a view to seek Mexico's support.

The Mexican Foreign Minister expressed support for a non-discriminatory approach on NSG expansion to states which have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the statement added.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will flag off the first batch of Kailash Mansarovar yatris on Saturday.

The Ministry of External Affairs has reportedly already received 1,400 applications for the yatra.

Out of these, 350 pilgrims will reach Kailash Mansarovar via Nathula Pass in Sikkim. The remaining yatris will travel via Pithoragarh and Lipulekh Pass, which is at an altitude of 17,500 feet.

The Ministry of External Affairs organises the yatra during June to September every year through two different routes -- Lipulekh Pass (Uttarakhand) and Nathu La Pass (Sikkim).

Seven states will go to polls today to elect 27 Rajya Sabha members.

These include 11 seats from Uttar Pradesh, four each from Karnataka and Rajasthan, three from Madhya Pradesh, two each from Haryana and Jharkhand and one from Uttarakhand.

Out of 57 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant, voting will take place for only 27 seats today as 30 candidates were declared elected unopposed at the end of withdrawal of nominations on June 3.

The Scottish Episcopal Church on Friday became the first Anglican Church branch in Britain to take a step towards allowing gay marriage in church.

According to an AFP report, a gathering of church leaders in Edinburgh voted that a change to remove from its laws the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman should be sent for discussion to the churchs seven dioceses.

The proposed reform would also introduce a conscience clause for those ministers who do not want to officiate a same-sex marriage, which has been legal in civil ceremonies in Scotland since 2014.

The changes would then be put to another synod vote in 2017.

The vote at the Scottish Episcopal Church synod passed with support from five out of seven bishops, 69 per cent of the clergy and 80 per cent of the laity, according to the online journal Christian Today.

The United States has condemned Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime, accusing it of bombing starving civilians just hours after they received a long-delayed United Nations aid shipment.

Late on Thursday, the besieged rebel-held town of Daraya received its first United Nations food delivery since 2012, a lifeline for the suffering population.

Shortly afterwards, according to a witness and human rights monitors, Assad's forces bombarded the town, dropping indiscriminate barrel bombs from helicopters as residents shared food.

"The Syrian regime conducted multiple barrel bomb attacks on Daraya this morning," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

"That came just hours after the UN convoy arrived," he told reporters.

Toner said the fact that Assad had allowed the convoy in to the town at all was 'positive, but only a partial delivery and we would call for the rest of the supplies to be delivered as as soon as possible'.

And he said that only the United Nations should decide where and when to distribute aid inside Syria and that the fate of hungry populations must not be left to the regime.

A police officer shot and wounded a man today outside baggage claim at a Dallas airport after the man attacked a woman believed to be the mother of his children and then threatened the officer with a large rock, The Associated Press quoted the police as saying.

'There doesn't appear to be any other weapon present than the rock,' Dallas Police Assistant Chief Randall Blakenbaker said.

Video posted by Instagram user @flashyfilms and credited to Bryan Armstrong shows people scattering on the sidewalk outside the baggage claim door at Dallas Love Field.

An officer in a yellow vest is seen pointing his gun, and at least nine gunshots can be heard. A man repeatedly yells 'stand down!' and a woman is heard screaming.

Asked why the officer fired so many rounds at a man holding a rock, Blankenbaker said only that he did not know how many shots were fired.

Some airport operations were temporarily disrupted, but the airport remained open. Spokesman Jose Torres said that some people after hearing shots ran through security so everyone had to be re-screened.

Officials warned that delays could last several hours.

The man, who was not identified, was taken to a hospital. Torres said he was not critically wounded. Traveler Lucinda Fonseca told WFAA-TV that she and her husband were coming out of the baggage claim area when they saw police approaching the man throwing rocks and one of the officers drew a gun.

Dr Virendra Tawde, whom the Central Bureau of Investigation was searching in Narendra Dabholkar murder case, was arrested from Mumbai on Friday.

Earlier this month, the CBI had carried out searches in Panvel near Mumbai in Raigad district in connection with the murder of rationalist and anti-superstition crusader Dabholkar.

Dabholkar was shot dead by two unidentified persons near Balgandharva auditorium in Pune while he was on a morning walk on 20 August, 2013. The assailants had reportedly fled on a two-wheeler.

00:57 Muhammad Ali laid to rest

Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali was on Friday buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

The burial happened after one last drive through his hometown in a motorcade bearing his remains.

The processional passed important spots in the legendary boxer, dubbed 'The Greatest', life before heading to the ceremony for the private burial.

A public memorial service began thereafter with Quranic recitation rendered by Hamzah Abdul Malik from the Midtown Mosque (Memphis, Tennessee). Photograph: Adrees Latif/Reuters

At least 30,000 paramilitary jawans will participate in events organised in state capitals and other prominent cities across the country to make the June 21 international Yoga Day celebration a success.

A high-level meeting of the Committee of Secretaries decided that the celebrations must be participated by at least 1,000 central paramilitary force personnel at each locations in ensuring the 'grandeur' of the event across the country.

At the main event, to be held in Chandigarh with the participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at least 2,000 paramilitary jawans will take part the event.

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police has been made the nodal force for the Chandigarh event. The force's primary mandate is to guard the Sino-Indian border, sources said.

According to a circular, a minimum of 1,000 personnel of paramilitary forces will be deployed in concerned state capital and cities for participation. The event will be held at 28 prominent cities or state capitals.

00:21 Top headlines at this hour

2 die on INS Vikramaditya after gas leak

2 Hindu temples vandalised in Malaysia

Not allowed to speak, BJP MLA stands on Delhi assembly bench

Pakistan reaches out to Mexico, Italy seeking support for NSG bid

Indian woman abducted in Kabul

Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy acquitted of terror charges

Read yesterday's live commentary HERE

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